The first book of Joseph Kim and Christopher Boom's Mark of Ascension Series, set in a futuristic United States, paints a beautiful picture of a corrupted society and one character's struggle for greatness. "The group of five boys held the defenseless little girl by the arms, digging a sharp rock into her collarbone. As they carved at the distinct wolf-shaped tattoo, I heard her terrified cries ring out through the city, and the image of hundreds of people chanting for Charles' murder flashed through my mind. 'You should see what they do to people like us in the Core Sectors. I heard they literally use us Bastards as slaves, ' a distant voice echoed, and I finally saw the world for what it was." In the United Republic, a post-modern country born to replace the United States, the social hierarchy is everything. The elite of society live in luxury and run the country while "Bastards," children born unsanctioned by the law, are treated like filth. Ethan Holfstras is one of those "Bastards," and even his early friendship with Hannah Kamiya, a revered young genius, failed to save him from society's condemnation and criticism. But just several weeks after he graduates from the Academy, he is called to Camp Daedalus, a military camp of unknown purpose. For weeks, he is isolated: away from Hannah, away from the Sectors, and away from society. When he comes back, he is implanted back into the hierarchy, but not as a Bastard. How dangerous is it?More than you can imagine. What's at stake? The country, and the life of everyone he loves.

Ascension Theology places the doctrine of the ascension in the context of the biblical narrative of descent and ascent, in order to shed light on 'the upward call of God in Christ Jesus' and on the eucharistic community that hears and answers that call. It is a book for the Church as well as the academy. Ascension Theology also offers a contemporary account of the Eucharist itself. It addresses the relation of the heavenly session of Christ to the conflicting currents of the present age, and the transformation to the life of the world to come. Specialist and non-specialist alike will find much to ponder in its traditional yet controversial claims.

Dossier on the Ascension is a profound look into the life of the soul, her purpose and destiny. Serapis Bey shows that the soul's reunion with God through the ascension is the goal of life for all. He gives practical keys for spiritual growth that can lead to the attainment of the ascension. The author answers the ultimate questions about life after death.

This title covers many of the key topics taught in classrooms today.

Five years ago, Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire -- a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire's trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire's goddess.He never returned.Now, it's Corin's turn. He's headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.If he can survive the trials, Corin will earn an attunement, but that won't be sufficient to survive the dangers on the upper levels. For that, he's going to need training, allies, and a lot of ingenuity.The journey won't be easy, but Corin won't stop until he gets his brother back.

"The Path to Your Ascension will empower you to focus on what’s really important in life. It will help you rediscover what your soul has known from the beginning—that life does have a higher purpose. And that each encounter along the way, no matter how difficult, is a stepping-stone that will lead you back to your source. The world’s religions have singled out great masters who have walked the earth and “ascended” to God. Elijah was swept up into heaven in a chariot of fire. Gautama Buddha entered Parinirvana. Jesus ascended to the Father, and Mary was assumed into heaven. These masters were not exceptions to the rule. They were teachers, mentors, examples. They came to show us how we, too, can master the circumstances of our life and walk the path home to God. The Path to Your Ascension shapes the wisdom of these ascended masters into a personal guide for your own soul's liberation. It offers practical techniques to accelerate your spiritual growth and describes the angels and masters who can help you achieve your goal. In down-to-earth terms, sprinkled with touching anecdotes, it reveals your greatest opportunities for spirituality and the most serious challenges to making it all the way home. "

Peter Bolt explores the impact of Mark's Gospel on early readers in the first-century Graeco-Roman world. Focusing upon the thirteen characters in Mark who come to Jesus for healing or exorcism, Bolt analyzes their crucial role in the communication of the Gospel. Enlisting a variety of ancient literary and non-literary sources, this book recreates the first-century world of illness, magic and Roman imperialism. This new approach to Mark combines reader-response criticism with social history.

This Student Workbook is your essential guide to the Oremus study program. It contains all the written materials you need to complete the eight-part study, and is designed to be accompanied by the corresponding presentations from the Oremus DVD series. The workbook includes session outlines, discussion questions, daily readings, and a journal section to record your personal experiences in prayer.

Ascension Now examines the New Testament references to the ascension and exhaltation of Jesus and looks at the theological and liturgical implications. This includes not only the description of the "event" in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles but also the departure scene that concludes the Gospel of Matthew and the references to Christ as King, as Intercessor, and as "exalted in glory" elsewhere in the New Testament. It also notes the implications for Christians who pray and preach and foreshadows some developments in worship and practical living in the light of the ascension experience. The doctrine of the ascension of Christ is important to theological debates and to the liturgical developments of the Christian Churches. Unless we connect the Christ of history with the Christ of worship, we will fail to hold together the two essential poles of the Christian faith. Christ must be both in time and beyond time. He must have been in history and been more than just a historical figure. He must be both fully human and fully God. Only then can Christ be the object of our faith and our worship. The ascension of Jesus can be seen as the journey of the humanity of Christ into the heart of the Divine God and of our journey in worship into the divine dimension of heaven. In Ascension Now, Bishop Atkins shows that in our worship we are never earthbound; we lift our hearts and minds up to where Christ is seated, symbolically reigning over the world. There he holds them tenderly in love as, through his redemptive power, we are transformed and renewed to fulfill the purposes of its Creator God. Chapters are "Introduction: The Importance of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Today's Church," "Prelude: New Ways of Seeing the Ascension," "The Biblical Evidence for the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Theological Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Liturgical Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Implications of the Ascension for Our Personal Prayers," "The Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Preaching," "The Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Future Liturgical Practice," "Conclusion: Personal Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," and "Appendix: The Geography of the Ascension."

Mark’s genius lies, not in telling a story about Jesus, but in creating conditions under which the reader may experience the peculiar quality of God’s good news. The Evangelist hurries one along breathlessly, “immediately,” making sure that the reader lurches with the characters into one pothole after another. “What is this new teaching” that consorts with the flagrantly sinful, turning the pious homicidal, intimates into strangers, and mustard seeds into “the greatest of all ... shrubs”? Jesus’ closest adherents, the Twelve, are among the most muddled. Who can blame them? They ask for an obscure parable’s interpretation and receive an answer even more confounding. They are told to feed thousands with next to nothing. Their boat almost capsizes while their teacher sleeps. As they oar in rough waters, the teacher strides the waves intending to bypass them. Putting the reader in the same boat, Mark structures conversations with Jesus that make little sense, if any. The Twelve are craven, stupid, self-serving, and disobedient: meet the average Christian. Besides, “their hearts were hardened.” Who hardens hearts? God. Should not God’s Messiah lift the burdens of those following him? What kind of Christ heads to a cross, handing his disciples another for themselves. “Do you not yet understand?” from the Introduction